Alice

Read on: 12/09/2016

Rating: ★★★★★ 4.7/5

“You’re only a mouse if you let them make you one.”

I was not expecting to like this at all!!! I loved it!

This retelling of Alice is fresh, disturbing without being too gory, creative and badass AF! It strays far from the original and it’s brilliant.

If you’re ready to meet a very twisted and gruesome version of beloved characters like Caterpillar, Cheshire, Walrus, Dormouse, White Rabbit, Carpenter, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and of course Alice and Mad Hatter then this book is for you. This book might not be too explicit but it doesn’t mean it’s not brutal and gory at times. Some parts are not easy to read because of how disturbing they are.

At the beginning of the story Alice and Hatcher (Mad Hatter) are in an asylum and their only way of communicating is through a mouse hole. They become close and when one day the asylum is set on fire, they escape together. With their escape starts their quest to kill the Jabberwock, which was freed with the destruction of the asylum. They are given hints about the location of this magic blade that can destroy it but quickly things get bloody after they leave the asylum.

What I loved the most was Alice’s growth throughout the journey. Her realisation that her fear of the Rabbit, while warranted, could be fought if she had more confidence in herself and in her chance of escaping him a second time. It was so thrilling to see her become so badass and less afraid of what her family would think if they saw her drenched in blood and holding on to a knife.

I’d like to point out to those that might be triggered by violence and rape that there is a lot of both in this book.

I started this book wary of how gory it would be and I ended up loving it. Keep in mind I dislike horror in general, but this retelling kept me hooked from beginning to end. Now I can’t wait to start Red Queen to see more of Alice and Hatcher!